The Infinite Wisdom of Jackie Tyler
by SqutternutBosh
Summary: Two conversations. Two hugs. A slap. After the events of Journey's End, Rose is confused and needs comforting from her mother. The new Doctor is forced to face his life as a human through a conversation with a woman who tells it like it is. 4x13 SPOILERS!
1. Rose

A/N: Okay, I couldn't resist this pestering alternate universe plot bunny after seeing Journey's End. Hopefully this offers a bit of a different take amongst the hundreds of post-Journey's End fics cropping up around here.

**Journey's End spoliers!**

**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is the property of the BBC, not me.**

……

Jackie Tyler shuffled into her marble-topped kitchen, pink sparkly slippers scuffing the cool chequered tiles. Little Tony Tyler was over two years old now, but eh still liked to regularly wake up his mother during the night when he was thirsty or wanted a cuddle- and how could she resist his gorgeous brown eyes and dimpled little grin? He was her beautiful baby, mummy's little boy and now that she had more than a bit of extra cash in this universe she wanted to spoil and treat him, as she had wanted to do so with Rose.

Speaking of Rose, Jackie noticed a shadowy figure huddled over a steaming mug at the wooden breakfast table. Stifling a yawn, Jackie put Tony's blue plastic cup down by the sink and padded over to her daughter. The chair scraped on the tiles as she pulled it out, taking a seat opposite Rose. Ghostly moonlight spilled through the French patio doors that stood locked at the end of the table. Rose looked up from the murky contents of her mug and offered her a weak smile.

'S'not like you to be up at three in the morning,' she said quietly.

'I used to be able to say the same for you,' Jackie commented. She rested her hands on the smooth table top and surveyed Rose from under the dyed ends of her fringe.

She had returned to staring into her mug, lost deep in thought, looking so forlorn and older than her twenty-three years. She had a pink dressing gown draped loosely around her shoulders, exposing the grey flannel of her pyjamas.

Jackie sighed.

'What's the matter, love?' she asked, not even needing her mother's intuition to provide the answer.

After all, mere hours ago she, Rose and the Doctor- the new, part-human Doctor- had returned from Norway on a flight which had been hastily booked by Pete. In the rush, none of the three had had a proper chance to talk and the entire situation had been completely overwhelming. Upon returning to the Tyler's mansion, all three felt dragged down by the weight of their exhaustion, even the Doctor and had all found a place to sleep- Jackie in her own bed, Rose in her old bed and the Doctor down the hall in one of the guest bedrooms, looking slightly ridiculous in a too-short pair of pyjamas he had borrowed from Pete.

Rose looked up at her mother, seeming to search for something in her tired eyes.

'Where do I start?' she asked rhetorically.

'I know, love.'

'I'm- It's just- I'm so confused!' Rose vented. 'I thought I'd gone through every possibility in my mind while we were working on the dimension cannon and then he bloody goes and does this! What the 'ell does he want me to do?' She looked at her mother inquiringly, seeking comfort more than answers.

'Seems to me he told you what he wanted,' she replied softly.

Rose lifted her mug with both hands, blowing the steam away into pearly spirals as she thought. She took a slow, considered sip before setting it back down on the table, loosening her grip as the ceramic conducted the boiling heat.

'He wants me to help him- the other him. To take care of him and… and _fix _him,' she said after a pause.

'He said you'd done it before, Rose, back when 'e 'ad 'is big ears and daft grin.'

'But I didn't know I was doing it then! I thought maybe- I dunno, maybe 'e just took his time to come out of 'is shell and the regeneration helped a bit. I didn't realise that I'd been helping 'im…'

'Then treat 'im like you always did, this new Doctor, I mean. 'E's the same, isn't 'e?' Jackie asked. The whole situation was playing havoc in her own mind, never mind Rose's.

'How do I do that?' Rose asked, her voice breaking. 'I-I _can't. _Not when I know that _my _Doctor is still out there on 'is own. By 'imself, travelling through all of space and time.'

'What're you on about, Rose? 'E's got that Donna girl and all of those people who came to help; Captain Jack and Martha and Sarah-Jane- and Mickey's there for 'im too as well.'

'But he doesn't have me…' she mumbled quietly, more to her mug of tea than to her mother.

'He does 'ave you!' Jackie exclaimed. ''Ere, why do you think 'e left this new Doctor with us really? 'E doesn't just need your help, 'e needs _you_. My daughter, Rose Tyler and 'e needs you. For all 'is books and science and smart comments, 'e still needs you.'

Rose smiled, encouraged by her mother's words.

'It's like, he may be in another parallel universe,' she continued, having gained steam and fallen into a quick stride. 'But 'e knows, with you both here, that you'll always be there to hold his hand.'

She laughed at the oddly profound statement that had fallen that had just slipped through her lips. Rose's brow creased into a perplexed frown.

'What's so funny?' she queried, perhaps a little worried that all of the stress and dimension-hopping had somehow addled her mother's brain.

'It's just- you'll be 'ere to hold 'is hand! And you will be 'cos this new Doctor grew out the old ones hand!' She laughed again.

'It's not funny!' Rose tried to scold, smiling despite herself. Jackie ceased laughing and smiled warmly at Rose, her eyes still sparkling. Rose took another swig of her tea now that it was cooling down and licked her bottom lip. She tugged anxiously at the fold of her dressing gown, pulling it up over her goose-pimpled shoulder.

'That's just it though isn' it?' Rose said, letting her rushed words fall into her mug. ''E's not the real Doctor. 'E grew from a hand, the Doctor's hand. He seems so much the same, but I know- I _feel _that he's different.'

Jackie's warm-hearted smile furled inwards from the corners of her lips at Rose's words. 'Seems the same to me,' she said.

'Argh, I know,' Rose groaned. 'I keep trying to find something different other than the one heart and the blue suit, but I can't. I just… It's because I know that he's not the Doctor, the full-blooded Time Lord.'

There was a pause as Rose's words hung in the air between them. She raised the mug to her lips once again.

'Rose, sweetheart, I _know _he's the Doctor. Just like I knew that Pete from this universe was just the same as your dad. You may think he's different now, but one day you'll realise they're one and the same.'

'I don't want to forget the Doctor,' Rose stated stubbornly, misunderstanding Jackie's point.

'As if you ever could!' she scoffed. 'I think- and I thought about it a lot when we first came here- I think that all these parallel universes have the same people, and sometimes one universe won't have someone from the next. The people that there are two of are the same, they just lead different lives, make different choices. An' this universe didn't have a Rose Tyler, or a Doctor, but now it 'as both. An' it's lucky for it, 'cos you two haven't changed a bit since you came from your home universe. An' this universe is definitely gonna hear about the pair of you, no doubt about it.'

Rose wasn't used to hearing such meaningful and well-intended speeches from her mother, her usual topics of preference were party plans and celebrity scandals. She thought carefully over everything she had just heard, running each point through her mind like an X-ray machine that saw the bare bones of each one. The words spread a warm feeling throughout her, reaching places the tea couldn't as she took another sip.

Jackie watched silently as the cogs in Rose's brain turned and churned. She wanted more than anything for her brave girl to be alright. After a few moments deliberation, Jackie reached out a hand and rested it gently on top of Rose's.

'Do you love him?'

'Who?'

'The new Doctor, the one who could tell you that he loved you,' she clarified, looking deep into her daughter's eyes.

'I- I think I could,' she said hesitantly. 'No,' she frowned. 'I think I do. As much as he's not my Doctor, at the same time he still is. I know he's human and 'e doesn't have a TARDIS, but I'm okay with that if he is. Because now we both have one human life to share with each other… And that's really what the Doctor- the first Doctor- wanted to give me. Himself and his life. His forever.' Her smile spread and grew into a full-fledged grin, tongue poking out between her teeth.

'Maybe 'e's as bad as I thought then,' Jackie added as an afterthought as Rose pushed back from the table and stood up, draining the rest of her tea. She put the mug down on the table with a dull clunk and stepped round the table, bare feet slapping against the tiles. She wrapped her arms gratefully around her mother, tickling her nose with her pink sleeve ends.

'Thanks, mum,' she whispered warmly, resting her cheek on the top of Jackie's head.

Jackie reached round and took Rose's hand. 'We've got to talk about these things, eh?'

'Definitely,' Rose agreed. 'An' I need to talk to the Doctor when he's up.' She chuckled quietly. ''E 'ardly ever used to sleep but today he announced 'e was exhausted! This'll take some getting used to…'

'But you will get used to it, won't you?'

Rose lifted her head from the top of her mother's and started to head for the door. She stopped in the doorway, smiling, with her back to her mother.

'He's my forever,' she said, just loud enough for Jackie to hear.

Jackie sighed contentedly as she heard Rose start up the creaky stairs. She looked pensively into Rose's mug, at the dregs of the tea leaves and the end of their little heart-to-heart.

……

A/N: So, did you love or hate? Realistic or far-fetched? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Accompanying chapter with a late night chat between Jackie and part-human Doctor should hopefully be up soon.


	2. New Doctor

A slight breeze wound its way through the house, keeping the air chill and Jackie wondered if Pete hadn't shut the door properly behind him when he had left for work earlier that morning

A slight breeze wound its way through the house, keeping the air chill and Jackie wondered if Pete hadn't shut the door properly behind him when he had rushed out to work earlier that morning. She shifted Tony up on her hip as she padded down the stairs.

'Tele?' Tony asked of her, eyes wide and innocent as they reached the hallway. Jackie noticed that the front door was shut firmly; maybe somebody had left a window open…

She ruffled Tony's feathery blond hair. 'Alright sweetheart,' she answered and he smiled, showing off all of his new milk teeth.

Jackie walked with him into the main living room and set him down on the sofa, where he shuffled back, almost swallowed by the cream cushions. Jackie picked up the remote and turned the television onto his favourite channel, where his eyes immediately lit up at the sight of too many bright colours and an overly-chirpy sock puppet.

'What do you want for breakfast, sweetheart?'

'Toast!' he cried after a few moments careful thought. 'Storbry jam!'

Jackie planted a kiss on the top of his blond head and then stood up.

'Toast and jam it is,' she told him. 'You be quiet for mummy, won't you Tony?'

He nodded, eyes fixed firmly on the kaleidoscopic screen.

'Because Rose is sleepin''

'Rose!' he repeated jubilantly.

Jackie smiled. 'Good boy.'

She wandered into the kitchen, the sounds of the sock puppet singing in a helium induced manner floating faintly in from the living room. She pulled the string of her dressing gown tighter to keep in the warmth, idly wondering if she should turn the central heating on.

Then, she found the source of the breeze.

The patio doors at the end of the kitchen had been thrown open and there stood the Doctor, leaning against the doorframe and staring out over the carefully manicured lawns. He took a bite of the banana he had clearly pinched from Jackie's fruit bowl.

'You're lettin' a draft in,' Jackie informed him as she walked over to join him. 'An' you're human now, stand out there in your jammies much longer and you'll catch a cold.'

'I've never had a cold before,' he mused, taking another bite of the banana.

'Well, they ain't fun, believe me… What're you doin' standin' out 'ere at seven in the mornin'anyway?'

The Doctor sighed. 'I'm not used to sleeping for long periods of time. That was the longest I've slept in ages and I still feel tired, but I was too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. How do you humans put up with this sort of thing?'

'Not us humans any more though, you too now.'

'I'm still Time Lord enough to question some of the strange things humans do,' he told her.

'And still Time Lord enough to lord it over the rest of us,' she muttered, rolling her eyes.

He shifted from his one-footed leaning stance so that he was standing, two feet planted firmly on the ground, but he still gripped the edge of the door with his banana-free hand.

'Ah well, 's'all part of this big new adventure,' he said flippantly. 'Human heart, Time Lord brain… I could change the future of this universe like that-,'

He realised that he needed to click his fingers to end his statement sufficiently, but found that both of his hands were occupied.

'You could just let go of my door,' Jackie suggested, not looking at him. 'You're probably gettin' your dirty finger marks all over 'em.'

'I-I can't,' he said weakly.

'What do you mean, "you can't"?' Jackie asked, scrutinising him like she was searching for signs of illness.

'I- I just can't.'

'I think you'll find you can,' she persisted.

'No, Jackie, I don't want to. It's too weird,' the words seemed to pain him and although she was still confused, Jackie was used to his occasional strange behaviour and left him to it. He didn't seem to want to talk about it anyway.

'Suit yourself,' Jackie sniffed. She didn't really care if he was getting fingerprints on the doorframe, the cleaner would be able to get them off easily- she'd had enough experience cleaning up after Tony.

'Have you spoken to Rose?' the Doctor asked, keen to change the subject.

'Yeah…' Jackie replied vaguely. 'She want's to talk to you.'

'Oh.'

He took another bite of the browning banana and chewed hurriedly as he thought. He swallowed.

'Oh,' he said again.

'I think it's a good thing,' she said, seeing the familiar lines of worry writing themselves across his features.

'A good thing?' his face brightened immediately. 'That's good, that is. Gooood.' He drew out the vowels and sounded the d out harshly, enjoying the way the letters sounded and the way it mildly irritated Jackie.

Silence, as they both looked out at the sun rising on the distant horizon.

'Are you gonna miss it?' Jackie asked suddenly.

'What?'

'Y'know, travellin' and all that space stuff,' she clarified, turning from his questioning eyes to watch two sparrows hopping about on the grass.

The Doctor felt the pace of his one heart pick up as it once again hit him that he would no longer have that freedom to stroll amongst the stars as if owned them, spouting off his years off accumulated knowledge about each one. He would never hear or see the TARDIS again, run his hand along her proud panels or feel the presence of his magnificent machine in the back of his mind. The other him would though. But the other him had two hearts and three regenerations left in him. The Doctor who now stood holding onto the Tyler's doorframe for dear life had only one heart counting out his days and no chance of regenerating. But he did have Rose, if that was what she wanted, of course.

'Definitely,' he said at last. 'How could I not miss all of that? It was my life, Jackie, flying through the time vortex, exploring, helping people out when things went wrong…'

'That was the other you that did all of that stuff though.'

'But it was also me. I _am _him, Jackie.'

'Jus'… a bit human?'

'Exactly!' he exclaimed loudly, clearly full of more energy than anybody had the right to have at such an early hour. 'And that's what makes me me, as well as him. Maybe that makes me better…' he trailed off, thinking out loud.

He bit into the last of the banana and unceremoniously chucked the skin out onto the flower bed.

'Oi!' Jackie cried. 'Stop bleedin' litterin' my garden!'

'I'm hardly littering,' he said lightly. 'The potassium will work wonders for those off-colour leaves on that chrysanthemum.'

'Oh, ta for that then.'

'Pleasure.'

Nobody spoke for a few moments. The only sounds were those of the birds chirping and singing in the watery early morning sun, and Tony laughing delightedly at the television. Jackie was still trying to wrap her head around the conversation she was having. She had told Rose earlier that morning that she thought this new Doctor to be just the same as the old one, and now he was telling her that he was… but also wasn't.

'So, if you're _him_, but also not him because you're _you_…' She started.

'Yeeeeah?'

'What on earth are you gonna do on _Earth?'_

'Get a job, I s'pose,' he answered, looking terrified at the mere thought. 'Or, I could get one of those zeppelin things and me and Rose could go travelling. Around Earth. It's such a diverse planet, I've seen so little of it 'cos I'm always drawn towards this wet little island… And this Earth is different to the other one, so I can travel and find the smallest differences, watch it develop on the slow path. Y'know, I think I might quite like that.' He grinned down at Jackie, his hair standing even taller than usual having been slept on.

'What about all those human things though?'

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, questioning her, even though he knew exactly what she meant.

'You must know the sort of things I'm on about. An' I'd be lyin' if I said that I thought Rose didn't want some of that stuff.'

The Doctor still pretended to act blankly, like he didn't have a clue. Jackie brushed her fringe out of her eyes, cottoning quickly onto the fact that he was playing dumb so that he might not have to answer.

'You know what I mean, Doctor, weddings and kids and stuff. The whole white picket fence package.'

'I don't like picket fencing,' he said, purposely avoiding the question now that she had been more specific.

'Doctor,' Jackie warned threateningly, placing her hands firmly on her hips. He backed further into the door frame.

'What?'

'What kind of an answer is that?'

'It's the truth!' he insisted, still eager to avoid actually answering the question. 'I really don't like picket fences, they're so generic and why, _why_ do they have to be white? That's just-,'

His panicked rant was cut off by the gunshot crack sound of Jackie's palm slapping his unshaven cheek. The blood immediately shot to the surface, leaving an impressive scarlet hand imprinted on his skin.

'OW!' he cried indignantly, releasing his grip on the door frame so that he could cover the offended area with both hands. 'What the hell was that for?!'

'Oh, now I know you're definitely 'im!' Jackie fumed. 'Anything too domestic, like somebody's mother slapping you and you shy away like some little kid, or-or a commitment-phobe! But when the whole universe is in danger, you think you're the only one who can help, always forgettin' that you _need _people. Like Rose.'

'What're you _on _about?' he asked, the pitch of his voice rising a note or two.

'Rose. You said to her, back at that stupid beach which she _hates_, you said that you could spend your human life with her. Together, you said- and it wasn't even the other you who said it, those words came out of that mouth, which you need to close and stop lookin' so stunned, Doctor, you deserved that slap if you're gonna abandon my daughter again.'

The Doctor shut his mouth quickly, teeth clanging together, still trying to figure out Jackie's point that had become jumbled in her anger and concern for her daughter; who was sure that this man was her forever.

'Answer the question, Doctor!' she demanded, hands on hips, staring him down. Last time the Doctor had seen Jackie Tyler in a dressing gown she had tried to seduce him, now she was practically forcing him down the aisle.

'I-I-,' he stammered, tripping over his tongue. 'I would never abandon Rose,' He finally managed resolutely.

'And what about the rest of it? Weddings and stuff?'

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair; he'd still not realised that he had instinctively let go of the door fame that had been so important to him minutes before.

'It's a bit much, Jackie,' he said and he had to cut her off quickly as she took a deep breath ready for another rant. 'No, wait, I'm not finished. I love Rose, I really do. But this whole situation is going to take time. She's going to take time to get used to the fact that although I am exactly the same as her Doctor, I am not, in her mind, _her _Doctor. We both need time to catch up with each other, on the two years I spent without her and the years she spent here trying to find me. Like I said, we can travel this Earth together, like old times. But… But, yes, is the answer. I think that- in the future, maybe- I'd like to think about those things. Getting married. Having kids. With Rose,' he added hastily at the end.

Jackie threw herself at him, almost suffocating him in a hug that he struggled to free himself from.

'You're right, Doctor,' she apologised. 'I'm sorry I slapped you, it jus' sounded like… Oh, I dunno, it's too early for me.'

'That's okay, Jackie,' he breathed as she released him.

'You let go of your precious door frame,' she told him with a strange grin.

The Doctor looked between the woman who had just hugged him and the door frame, the red handprint fading from his cheek.

'Hey, it's not so weird now,' he said happily, taking a step further from the door. 'Isn't that just wizard? Just needed to stop thinking about it.'

'About what?'

He turned to her, a sad smile on his face. 'When I was a proper Time Lord- or, when he; never mind, that's too confusing-' He shook his head s if clearing his ear canals of water. 'Basically, I used to be able to feel the Earth and all other orbiting planets moving under my feet. Turning on their axis. And now, everything's so still, it's thrown my whole balance off-whack, made me feel a bit queasy actually…'

He stumbled back over, gripping the sides of the door once more.

'Shouldn't have thought about it,' he said, eyes shut. 'Oooooh, it's worse than travelling on a primitive Plutonian space shuttle.' He groaned.

Jackie rested a gentle but reassuring hand on his arm, feeling the navy sleeve of Pete's spare dressing gown.

'It's jus' gonna take some time,' she told him comfortingly.

'Yeah,' he agreed, looking at her through an eyelid he had cracked open a touch. 'And I've got all the time this human life will bring me.'

Jackie smiled at him and started to head back to the kitchen, remembering that she had promised Tony strawberry jam on toast. A thought suddenly came to her and she stuck her head back out of the patio doors, one hand holding the door handle.

'Doctor?'

'Yep?' He popped the 'p'.

'Why Norway?'

The Doctor opened both of his eyes and looked at her with a wry grin.

'I think that was his final revenge on you, Jackie Tyler.'

He laughed at the perplexed and slightly offended look that passed over Jackie's face and he closed his eyes again, resting his head back against the wall, breathing in the smells of this new Earth. His new home.

Jackie left him alone and began placing slices of bread into the toaster, wondering whether he had been joking or not.

……

A/N: And that's my little post-Journey's End fic sorted at last. I told myself I wouldn't write one, but plot bunnies can be surprisingly insistent. I hope you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear any thoughts. Thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter, I've never had such a good response for one chapter before.


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